James Mor Stewart

Biography

James burned the town of Dumbarton in 1425, but Dumbarton Castle held out against him. King James I of Scotland, mortal enemy of the Albany Stewarts. Little is known of James's life before the arrest of his father, the Duke of Albany, and his eldest son Alexander, for treason by King James I of Scotland on 21 March 1425, on the 9th day of the March parliament. The family properties of Doune Castle and Falkland Palace were captured, and However, the castle itself, commanded by John Colquhoun, successfully held out against James's men.

Escape to Ireland James Mor's rebellion was quickly defeated. His father and brothers were found guilty of treason by a jury of knights and peers, and executed after a trial. At a stroke, almost all of James' family was wiped out. Only his mother, Isabella of Lennox survived the insurrection. Later in 1425, pursued by a royal expedition, James fled to Antrim, Ireland, accompanied by the sons of his dead brother Walter, to escape the King's justice. Few details of his escape survive but it seems likely that he sought assistance from the Campbells of Lochawe, to whom he was closely linked by blood and marriage.

James Mor would never return to his native Scotland. He remained an exile in Ireland until his death. His widowed mother and sister remained in Scotland.

Claim to the throne James Stewart was in line to claim the throne as sole surviving grandson of the Duke of Albany, brother to the late King Robert III.

Family and legacy Inchmurrin, Loch Lomond, where James' mother Isabella of Lennox raised her grandchildren after her eventual release from Tantallon Castle. In Ireland, James became involved with an unknown woman with the surname MacDonald. Some sources suggest she was one of the daughters of Iain Mòr Tànaiste MacDhòmhnaill, 1st Earl of Antrim, the son of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross. she issued a large numbers of charters, was popular in the province, and was tolerated by King James II. At some point after she regained her liberty, Isabella brought her young grandchildren, the children of James the Fat, to be raised at her castle at Inchmurrin.

Ancestry